China has entered the final phase of a major renewable energy project as the Shuangjiangkou dam in Sichuan province began storing water on May 1, newswires have reported. Upon completion later this year, it will temporarily become the tallest dam in the world – until the Rogun Dam in Tajikistan surpasses it by the next decade.
The Shuangjiangkou Dam will reach a height of 315m, overtaking China’s own Jinping-I Dam by 10m. However, the Rogun Dam, which is under construction in Tajikistan, is planned to reach 335m upon its completion, projected for 2033.
Designed to produce 2000MW of electricity annually, the Shuangjiangkou project is a cornerstone of China’s push to transition away from coal. Chinese officials estimate that the dam will offset nearly 3 million tons of coal use annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 7 million tons.
Construction of the dam began in 2015 along the upper reaches of the Dadu River, which flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Sichuan Basin. Built at over 2,500 meters above sea level in a seismically active region, the project has faced engineering and geological challenges. According to a recent linkedin post from Dipl.- Ing. Cesar Adolfo Alvarado Ancieta, M.Sc, the dam abutments have an excavated slope above 60° and exposed rock is granite. The dam foundation treatment comprised a consolidation grouting of around 15m-depth and a curtain grouting approximately 100m, performed from a concrete base platform, which are applied to strengthen foundation rock with low pressure injections and to reduce both leakage and uplift pressures with deeper injections, respectively.
Water levels at the project have risen above the river’s natural height – with full commissioning expected by the end of 2025.
State-owned Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), which leads the project, reports the dam will generate more than 7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Construction costs have reached ¥36 billion (roughly US$5 billion).
While the Shuangjiangkou Dam will temporarily claim the title of the world’s tallest, it is part of a broader trend: of the six tallest dams worldwide, five are in China, including Lianghekou and Baihetan, both completed in the past decade.
